Professor Robert DiYanni Robert DiYanni is Professor of English at

Pace University, Pleasantville, New York, where he teaches courses in literature, writing, and humanities. He has also taught at Queens College of the City University of New York, at New York University in the Graduate Rhetoric Program, and most recently in the Expository Writing Program at Harvard University. He received his B.A. from Rutgers University (1968) and his Ph.D. from the City University of New York (1976).

DiYanni’s Writings Professor DiYanni has written articles and

reviews on various aspects of literature, composition, and pedagogy. His books include The McGraw-Hill Book of Poetry; Women’s Voices; Like Season’d Timber: New Essays on George Herbert; and Modern American Poets: Their Voices and Visions (a text to accompany the Public Broadcasting Television series that aired in 1988). With Kraft Rompf, he edited The McGraw-Hill Book of Poetry (1993) and The McGraw-Hill Book of Fiction (1995). With Janetta Benton he wrote Arts & Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities (1998).

Janetta Rebold Benton, PhD

PhD, Brown University

Courses Taught: Honors courses: "Lessons from

Leonardo da Vinci," "Art and Literature of Early England," "Art and Literature of France," "Art of the Middle Ages," "Italian Renaissance Art," "Northern Renaissance Art," "Ancient Greek and Roman Art," two-semester survey of History of Art, "History of Arhcitecture"

Research, Scholarship, Creative Works:

Areas of interest: medieval and Renaissance art history, iconography, fantastic fauna, gargoyles, humor

Medieval Cathedral The medieval cathedrals of England, dating

from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-six buildings which together constitute a major aspect of the country’s artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of Christianity. Though diversified in style, they are united by a common function. As cathedrals, each of these buildings serves as central church for an administrative region (or ‘diocese, –noun, an e’cclesi’astical--–adjective of or pertaining to the church or the clergy; churchly; clerical; not secular--district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. ) and houses the throne of a bishop (“cathedra” from the Greek). Each cathedral also serves as a regional centre and a focus of regional pride and affection.

William Shakespeare(baptised 26 April 1564;

died 23 April 1616) an English poet (154

sonnets) and playwright (37 plays), widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.

John Shakespeare's house, believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon.

English Sonnet

Sonnet is a fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines that are typically five-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme.

An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter is one of many meters used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet". The word "iambic" describes the type of foot that is used (in English, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable). The word "pentameter" indicates that a line has five of these "feet".

An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Rhyme Scheme & the Couplet

The rhyme scheme of the English sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. Its greater number of rhymes makes it a less demanding form than the ‘Petr’archan (Italian) sonnet, but this is offset by the difficulty presented by the couplet, which must summarize the impact of the preceding quatrains with the compressed force of a Greek epigram.

Italian Sonnet The Italian sonnets included two parts. First,

the ‘octave (two ‘quatrains), which describe a problem, followed by a ses’tet (two ‘tercets), which gives the resolution to it.

Typically, the ninth line creates a "turn" or volta which signals the move from proposition to resolution. Even in sonnets that don't strictly follow the problem/resolution structure, the ninth line still often marks a "turn" by signaling a change in the tone, mood, or stance of the poem.

Rhyme Scheme The octave is rhymed abbaabba. The

rhyme scheme of the ses’tet varies; it may be cdecde, cdccdc, or cdedce.

Compared with its English counterpart, Italian sonnet is harder to rhyme—the fewer rhymes allowed, the harder the task. In this respect, it is similar to the Chinese classical poetry, especially Tang Poetry.

Decoding Difficult Sentences

Syntax: at the primary level, identify the subject, verb, and

object; Sometimes for rhyming purpose and thematic emphasis, a sentence could be inverted:

That time of year thou may’st in me behold (page 2)= You (Subject) may (auxiliary verb) see (main Verb)

in me that time of year (O) when…(introducing a clause…)

at the secondary level, look for attributives and adverbials;

there are many modifiers in long sentences;

Decoding Meaning Diction Identify

patterns

Ask W questions(page 4)and expand the scope of your critical examination

The Couplet (Sonnet No. 73)

A couplet in an English sonnet summarizes the theme;

When choosing a theme, make sure it is wide enough to reach a larger audience otherwise nobody will pay attention to what you have written.

The theme: since mortality is part of our life, it is more imperative we love as much as we could before death takes everything away;

Enjoy life as much as you could…

Summary vs. Analysis (6)

Summary Analysis

Sequence and Order (10)

Climatic—by the order of importance; Anti-climatic —same as the Climatic order but

at the end undercut the excitement as in Earnest Hemingway’s short story “Indian Camp”

http://amb.cult.bg/american/4/hemingway/camp.htm

Chronological — string events by three time frames: past/present/future or first/then/finally;

In medias res —start in the middle and shift back and forth by flashback and foreshadowing;

In medias res In medias res or medias in res (“into

the middle of affairs”) is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, not at the beginning (cf. ab ovo, ab initio), establishing setting, character, and conflict via flashback and expository conversations relating the pertinent past.

Henry David Thoreau The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods Library Thoreau's Life & Writings

_____ Henry D. Thoreau Mis-Quotations Pages

  "In wilderness is the preservation of the

world." Misquoted from Thoreau's essay, "Walking":

“The West of which I speak is but another name for the Wild; and what I have been preparing to say is, that in Wildness is the preservation of the world.”